yall tiny note, William Bower IS Will, Kaia's costar😭 I think the name was mentioned in an earlier chapter. Anyway, it wasn't supposed to be right Like I wasn't gonna make him Will Bowery but then my friend was like "wouldn't it be hilarious if you named him Will Bowery?" And it just kinda was rly funny at the time 💀 so yeah... anyway he's NOT gonna be Joe and seriously you guys have nothing to worry about on that end i promise !! Anyway. It's gonna be funny. I think... I hope. Wew!
Anyway so I *did* finish writing this story. We're looking at 39 chapters... just thought I'd let you guys know!
Is it gonna be the end? I dunno... that's for y'all to find out!! :)
anygays, enjoy this chapter! I think it's a cute one :)
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The Decoy plan was given the green light almost immediately. Taylor wasn't surprised that when Kaia had suggested the idea to her publicist, Emma had thought that it was a good idea. The repercussions of anyone finding out that the relationship was fake could be disastrous, but as long as no one confirmed nor denied any rumours, they would be okay. Besides, according to Emma and Will's management team, it would be a great move for their individual careers seeing as the public loved them so much on screen already.
Will, though, very surprisingly, was way too enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.
When Kaia FaceTimed him, he answered immediately after only two rings.
"Hey! Hey! How's my favourite work wife doing?"
Taylor watched from across the room as Kaia's face bunched up in a grimace. "Nope. Don't call me that. Why are you so excited? It's way too early."
"It's around two in the afternoon here, I've been up for ages!"
"Good for you, William! So... I take it you've read the email?"
Taylor had read the very formal email proposing the dating arrangements, including all the paperwork that needed to be signed by both parties involved, and everyone who would be aware of the ordeal. It was all way too legal. She wasn't exactly fond of any of it.
"Ah, we're jumping straight to business. Let me adjust my tie!"
Taylor raised her eyebrow at her girlfriend. "Is he even wearing a tie?" She asked and Kaia simply looked up with a tired look on her face and shook her head.
"Will, this is serious!"
"I know, I know. Relax, Kaia. I know how important this is to you, and I'm very happy to help! I've already gone over the paperwork and signed everything—"
"That fast?" Kaia cut him off in surprise. Taylor was shocked herself. She would have thought that a man like Will would have at least taken some more time to think about signing over his dating life for at least the next year.
"Yeah, it's no big deal!" The man chuckled on the other end of the line.
"Will... you realise you'll be putting your real dating life on the line for a year or so?" Kaia asked, looking at her phone with concern in her eyes.
"Yes, Kibs! I've already talked to Mills about this. She knows this business. She's more than happy to stay lowkey for this—"
"Wait," Kaia interrupted him again, eyes wide. Taylor herself had sat up suddenly in her seat. "You told Emilia about... everything?"
"What? Oh, no! Don't worry. I didn't tell her about you and Taylor. I thought you would want to break the news to your friends in your own time. No, I just told her it's a work thing that we need to do. Which, on my end, isn't a lie. This is going to be great for our careers!"
Kaia sighed heavily, visibly relaxing as she leaned back against the couch. "Right... yes. Thank you, Will."
"No, thank you! If it weren't for you, I never would have met the love of my life! Kibs, seriously... thank you!"
Kaia let out a small laugh, and she glanced up from her spot on the couch at Taylor, and when their gazes met, she smiled softly, her dimples popping and Taylor's heart still melted. She was crazy for those dimples.
"Yeah, I know, Millie is one of the best people I know. We'll tell her soon, I promise. Uhm, but, Will, seriously. Thank you so, so much. You're really helping me out here, you have no idea! Thank you for doing this," she mentioned sincerely, smiling down at the camera.
"Yeah, thanks, William!" Taylor called out from her spot on the armchair, but she felt everything but sincere.
"It's no problem at all. Seriously. Anything for you, Kaia! And Taylor! Hope you're well!"
"Great, so, when the paperwork's done and all... you'll come to New York then?" Kaia asked.
"Yeah, no worries! I'll be there in the next few weeks and we'll hang out, very publicly!"
And hangout publicly, they did.
Will had landed in New York the following week, and there they sat, all three of them, and Mica for some reason, in Taylor and Kaia's living room. She had officially moved in with all of her essentials just a few days ago and handed the keys to the old apartment back to the landlord.
It was a little scary for Taylor. She hadn't exactly had an official roommate since she had lived back home in her parents' house with her family. And it was a huge step in their relationship. One she seemed to be unable to focus on because she was too busy constantly worrying about William Bowery and the Decoy Boyfriend Plan.
"Hey, uh, thanks for having me here! You've got a lovely place..." Will started, glancing around the room and eventually settling on the large cat paintings that Kaia just knew were freaking him out as much as they had freaked her out the first time. And of course, Taylor just had to have them at the new place. "That's a great painting. I didn't know you were fond of art."
She met Taylor's eyes across the room and smirked.
"Thank you, William," Taylor replied, holding her mug of coffee in both hands, tapping her nails against the ceramic. "Yeah, I love art."
Taylor saw Kaia and Mica share a look and the blond had an amused smirk playing on his face. She couldn't exactly understand the silent banter they seemed to be having, but she had started to pick up on their cues and their ability to communicate without any spoken words. It freaked her out sometimes.
"Hey, Will, let's get this over with, shall we?" Kaia suggested, already up on her feet.
"It almost makes a man feel wanted!" Will replied sarcastically, and Taylor had to admit... his humour was starting to grow on her.
"I will never want a man, it's nothing personal, mate!" Kaia called after him from the hallway as she slipped on her boots.
She came back into the room with a scarf wrapped warmly around her neck and a denim jacket with a fleece lining on. She looked so soft with her rosy cheeks, Taylor wanted to wrap her up in her arms and pepper her face with kisses until her lips got numb.
"Mica, behave, please!" Kaia pointed her finger at him, twirling it in the air as she adjusted her short hair that flopped over her head in tiny curls, still wet from her shower.
"When do I not!" He scoffed, pretending to flip his hair, which was the same length as Kaia's. She remembered when he used to have shoulder length, luscious waves earlier this year and he used to flip his hair quite a bit, a habit he couldn't quite shake even after having buzzed his hair off. It was funny seeing him twitch unintentionally sometimes, less so when he did it dramatically and on purpose.
Kaia ignored him and turned to her girlfriend instead, sending her a little smile. "Are you going to be okay with that idiot?"
Taylor glanced at Mica who tossed his arms up in the air exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. She smiled back at Kaia and nodded. "Yeah, you know he texts me every day? He's insufferable, but we've become best friends, I fear."
"Yep, that's Mica. He wears you down until you can't help but love him," Kaia laughed, adjusting the length of her chequered scarf. "You're gonna stay home, then?"
"No, I'm taking her out to brunch!" Mica decided, folding his leg over his other knee. Taylor raised an eyebrow at him in suspicion.
"You are?"
"Yeah! They're not the only two who get to go on a fancy date. We deserve it too!"
"It's not a fancy date, we're only going to a café downtown," Kaia responded, exchanging glances with Will who only shrugged. He was very confused, but bless him, he was okay going along with any of their decisions.
"All right, then, it's a date!" Taylor laughed, though she still eyed Mica suspiciously. She just knew he had a plan but just couldn't tell what it was.
"Look at us," Kaia said with a light chuckle, wrapping her arms around Taylor's shoulders and leaning against the arm of the couch by her side. "Going on separate dates with men."
"I'm not entirely sure I like entertaining that thought," Taylor muttered, snaking her arms around Kaia's waist and burying her face in her side. Kaia bent down and kissed the top of her hair softly.
"Don't worry, Mica's fun when he wants to be!" Kaia reassured her. Her scarf brushed against Taylor's cheek and she inhaled the soft flowery smell of her laundry detergent and the perfume that always stuck to her clothes. It instantly comforted her. "Do you want me to bring anything back on my way home?"
Taylor smiled up at her girlfriend and shook her head. "I'm going out as well, apparently, so it's okay."
"Right, but if you think of anything, text me," Kaia told her, and Taylor smiled wider to herself, knowing it was just how Kaia was. She couldn't help but offer, even when she already knew that Taylor was going to be out and could get herself anything she would want. While Taylor's love language was physical touch and affection, Kaia's was endless giving, and she always had more to offer, from food to affection. She bent down again to leave a lingering kiss on Taylor's lips, and Taylor clung onto the sleeve of her denim jacket, slowly loosening her fingers as she started to get up and walk away.
"William?" Taylor called out as the two actors got ready to step into the elevator.
"Yep?" He asked, raising his head to meet her gaze across the hall. He pushed his blond hair out of his eyes and smiled expectantly at Taylor.
"Keep your hands to yourself, buddy! I'll be watching you!"
Mica was cackling back in the living room while Will genuinely looked frightened. Kaia on the other hand rolled her eyes and dragged him by the back of his jacket into the lift.
"So will the whole world! We'll be fine! Bye, darling."
"Bye, Kibbles," Taylor sighed, waiting until the elevator doors closed before heading back inside.
Kaia and Will slipped into the SUV driven by Spencer and they sat quietly until they got to the café.
"Thanks, Spence," the brunette said softly when he got out to open the door for them.
"Thanks, mate," Will said and joined his 'girlfriend' on the sidewalk. "So... how are we doing this? I've never fake dated anyone before."
"Believe it or not, I haven't either," Kaia retorted, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
"Are you going to be so sarcastic all afternoon?" He sighed heavily, mimicking her by slipping his hands into his coat. He rocked back and forth on his heels, regarding Kaia with a cautious gaze.
"It's part of my pleasant charm," she grinned up at Will who shook his head and pointed with his thumb behind him.
"Let's head inside, then, you charmer," he teased her, placing his hand on the small of her back to lead her inside.
Kaia glanced back for a moment as Will held the glass door open for her when she spotted a man crouched down around the corner of the street with a camera and a large lens pointed their way. Perfect. Their plan was working already.
They got a table near the window in a strategic place where just about anyone had a great view of them. It was the last table Kaia would have ever chosen under any circumstances which meant it was perfect for this occasion. They had barely been sitting there for five minutes, flipping through their menus, and Kaia had already counted at least three different heads do a double take as they passed the café outside. This kid even stood there for a good thirty seconds, just staring at them through the window. Will had to smile tightly and wave awkwardly for the young girl to waddle away sheepishly.
"Do we look like a couple? What do couples look like?" Will asked, leaning forward on his elbows.
"Will you relax?" Kaia chuckled softly. "We really only need to act normal. You flew all the way to New York to go out for brunch with me. That's enough to get the rumours started. We'll go out again tomorrow night with a few friends, and make sure we're seen arriving together and leaving together, and that'll spark the flame and it'll hopefully be enough to keep it burning for a while."
Will nodded as he listened to Kaia explain their situation but he still looked pretty concerned.
"Dude, there's nothing to be worried about. Well, there's no reason for you to worry," Kaia reassured him, putting her hand over his and giving it a light pat. "We'll be fine."
"Okay, okay," he breathed out, ruffling his hair and smoothing his palm over his stubble. "Here's the thing though... what if someone asks me if we're dating? What am I supposed to tell them?"
"No one's going to come up to you and ask you, outright, are you dating Kaia? That's just rude," she told him and turned to smile up at the waitress who started making her way toward them.
"But they might, people do tend to be very rude and I'll probably start an embarrassing word-vomit—" Will started to answer when Kaia kicked him under the table to shut him up.
"Hello! My name is MJ and I'll be helping you out today. Would you like me to read you our specials?"
Kaia smiled politely at the young woman. "No, thank you. I know what I'm ordering. I'm not sure about Will, though."
"Just your special omelette, without the mushrooms, and a cappuccino, please," Will ordered, handing MJ his menu. "What would you like, dear?"
Kaia almost wanted to laugh at how seriously he had taken his role as 'the boyfriend', giving her the same fake, fond look he had to put on in front of the cameras on set.
"The turkey and cheese sandwich, and some green tea. Thank you."
"That sounds great! I'll be back with your drinks shortly. If you need anything else, just wave me over!"
The waitress skipped away and Will visibly relaxed. This was stressing him out beyond belief, and it amused Kaia, though it did impress her how easily he could hide his stress and give his best acting skills.
"No mushrooms, huh?" She asked and Will scrunched his nose in distaste, faking a gag.
"Horrid little things! I can't even fathom how we, as a species, ever collectively decided that it was okay to eat them!"
"Oh, no, not collectively. It most definitely is not okay!" Kaia shook her head and Will opened his arms wide, a grin splitting his face.
"Exactly! Finally, someone who gets it! They're disgusting!"
"My biggest enemy, I fear!" Kaia chuckled and leaned her cheek on her palm.
Their food came soon, and their conversation remained quite pleasant and easy. Will really wasn't all that bad, and he could be funny at times as well, though most of what they talked about had to do with work.
"Do you think this season will be nominated for any big awards?" Will asked, sliding his card into the leather booklet before Kaia could snatch it up.
"Probably not when they find out I murdered you."
Will chuckled, holding it over his head and out of Kaia's reach. "I'm not letting you pay. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I did?"
"A fake one," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's no big deal, Kibs. We're doing this for appearance's sake, aren't we?"
Kaia didn't like it all that much but she relented as there were several eyes still lingering their way. She wasn't going to fight him in public, but she was going to make sure to pay him back in some way eventually.
As they made their way outside, Will helped Kaia into her jacket and held the door open for her again, and the whole time, Kaia could see cameras snapping pictures of them. This was quickly starting to become rather uncomfortable.
"Are we like supposed to hold hands or something?" Will asked as they waited for Spencer to bring the car around.
"I'm not holding your hand," Kaia said, keeping her fingers warm in the pockets of her jacket.
"So, is this enough for the rumours to start?"
Kaia set her jaw and turned to glare at him and his stupid, inane questions. "We'll find out tomorrow when our pictures are posted everywhere."
"Okay... okay, okay, yep... but I think it would help if you didn't glare at me so hard with a camera pointed right at us."
Kaia glanced behind her and sighed heavily before plastering on her brightest smile. "I forgot how much I hated photographers. This was probably the worst idea we've ever come up with."
"You came up with it. And then dragged me along," Will commented and when Kaia glared at him again, he lifted his hands up in defence. "I'm just saying..."
Kaia shook her head and hopped into the back of the car as soon as Spencer pulled up in front of them. She slid over to the other side and Will closed the door behind him, silently buckling his seatbelt.
He waited until they stopped at a red light before turning toward Kaia. "If you hate this so much... then why are we doing this?"
Kaia peeled her eyes away from the trees outside her window and glanced back at him. "I don't hate it so much," she sighed softly, leaning her head against the cool window.
"So, you hate me?" Will asked with a small hint of amusement in his voice.
"I don't hate you, William. In fact, I quite like you actually. You're not so bad," Kaia chuckled, giving his arm a friendly pat. "There's just a lot at stake here."
"I understand," he nodded quietly, settling in more comfortably in his seat. "Do you love her?"
Kaia narrowed her eyes at the man, her body stiffening on its own. "Do you love Emilia?"
William shrugged, brushing his fingers over the stubble on his chin. "I know I like her very much. I think I might grow to love her if things proceed the way they are."
Kaia was surprised by his honesty when she had expected a sarcastic response to her retort.
"I do love her. I think I have since our first real conversation," she admitted, her voice just barely above a whisper. She hadn't said it out loud yet to anyone before. It was weird to her, confessing her feelings to William of all people, but it did feel nice to finally open up about it, and honestly, the actor had a comforting presence. She felt like she could trust him. "She doesn't know though, so don't go around saying anything stupid and spooking her."
"I won't, don't worry," he reassured her with a light chuckle. "She knows, though."
"I haven't told her."
William chuckled again, as though her words were silly. "Look at the lengths you're willing to go to in order to protect her and what you have together. She knows. At the very least, she feels it."
"Am I really that obvious?"
He shook his head gently. "It doesn't take much to see the... the purity, and rawness of your love for each other, if I'm being honest. I saw it, the first time the three of us sat in the same room when she visited you on set a few months back."
Kaia watched the man sitting on her left curiously. She let his words slowly sink in, her heart hammering faster in her chest as she thought of Taylor and how much she loved her, and how, perhaps, Taylor loved her back.
"When did you get so poetic?" Kaia murmured with a small laugh.
"I think working on as many period dramas as I have should do the trick. You should be the same."
They shared a knowing grin and Kaia playfully shoved his shoulder as Spencer came to a stop outside Will's hotel.
"What you two have is very special," he said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and adjusted his jacket. "I think it's awesome that you're willing to do all the hard work to make it, well... work. You're both very lucky."
"I know," Kaia smiled down at her lap, fiddling with the end of her scarf.
"I'll see you later, Kaia. Take care of yourself," he squeezed her shoulder gently before jumping out onto the sidewalk.
Kaia slid over the other side of the bench and poked her head outside the window. "Hey, Will?"
He turned back around, his eyebrows raised. "Yeah?"
"Thank you," Kaia told him sincerely. "You didn't have to do this, but you did anyway and... I'm just really grateful."
"It's really no problem at all, mate. We're good friends. Friends help each other out," he smiled widely at her and gave her a friendly wink. "Text me the details for our next date?"
"I will. Bye, Will!"
She watched him climb up the steps toward the swivelling doors and walk into the hotel lobby.
"Home, miss Browne?"
Kaia met Spencer's eyes in the rear-view mirror and nodded. "Yeah, Spence. Home."
A few minutes later, they were rounding up the corner on Cornelia Street and Kaia smiled at Robin who was casually strolling along the sidewalk. Well, casual enough to any passer-by. Kaia knew he was very much on duty.
"All right, Rob?"
"I'm doing all right, thank you. And yourself?"
"Never better!"
He opened the door for her and Kaia went inside with a little smile on her face.
The house seemed eerily calm, so she assumed Mica and Taylor must have still been out on their own little date when she saw their shoes by the door and a few grocery bags left there as though forgotten.
With a worried frown on her face, Kaia started to unravel the scarf from around her neck and poked her head through the first room to her right. She kicked off her shoes in the hallways and neatly placed them by the wall before walking into the living room that was empty apart for Mica's jacket, strewn over the back of the couch. Kaia left her own jacket next to it with her scarf on top and went to check the kitchen next, but it was, as suspected, also empty.
"Guys... I'm home! Are you here?" She called out, looking up the stairs at the second floor. When she didn't get an answer, she started climbing up the stairs carefully, trying to decide whether she should have armed herself or not. Even the cats were nowhere to be found.
The master bedroom's door was left ajar and when she gently kicked it open, she saw the light coming from the en suite bathroom first, and then she heard Mica's voice.
"GOD, IT FUCKING BURNS!"
Her eyes slowly widened, wondering what could have burned so bad that he was left hissing and screaming like that.
"IS IT SUPPOSED TO BURN? I BETTER NOT BE GOING BALD RIGHT NOW— TAYLOR, I SWEAR—"
Kaia spotted Olivia and Meredith standing on each side of the bathroom door, keeping guard, and probably interested in whatever was going on inside. Kaia herself wasn't only interested. She was terrified.
"Will you stop shouting? You're not going end up bald!" Kaia heard Taylor interrupt Mica's screeching
"Guys...?"
Kaia poked her head inside, and she definitely wasn't ready for the sight before her. Sitting on the toilet was Mica with an old towel wrapped around his bare shoulders and his hair white with some sort of cream all over it.
"Oh my god, what are you guys doing?"
Taylor turned around with a small, plastic bowl in her gloved hands and a brush dipped inside. "Oh... we're bleaching Mica's hair."
"Uh-huh... Okay." Kaia stepped further into the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, her smile slowly growing at the sight before her. "Why?"
"I don't know, but this shit burns! Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Mica exclaimed, looking worriedly up at Taylor.
"Dude, I keep telling you, I paid someone to bleach my hair when I did. I know just as much as you do about this shit!" Taylor snapped back, holding up the bowl with the products inside.
"And how much is that?" Kaia asked, biting back her grin.
"The instructions we read on the back of the package and the first YouTube video we found." Taylor sighed, moving to brush on some more bleach on the back of Mica's head. "It did kinda burn when I did it too, so, maybe this isn't all wrong."
"You better hope you know what you're doing!"
"Hey, you dragged me into this buddy! It's on you!" Taylor pointed her brush accusingly in his face and while the two of them argued some more, Kaia subtly pulled out her phone and started filming this whole interaction.
"I did absolutely no such thing!"
Taylor gasped loudly and held her hands at her hips, leaning her weight on her right leg. "Are you fucking serious? You literally made me stop at a store to buy some snacks, and you came back a whole twenty minutes later with bleach and pink hair dye! I did not make you buy this shit!"
"No, but you didn't stop me! Instead, you offered to do the whole thing for me!"
"Exactly! You should thank me!"
"For burning my scalp off? Nu-uh!"
"Oh my god, your scalp is fine! Stop being so dramatic! It's literally called bleach. It will hurt. Get over it!"
"Can I rinse it off?"
"Dude..." Taylor sighed heavily and glanced at the watch around her wrist. "We literally just put it all in. We need to wait, like, at least fifteen minutes according to the package. Up to thirty."
"I am not doing thirty fucking minutes, jesus christ."
She turned around to set the hair products on the bathroom counter when she noticed Kaia standing there with her phone out. "What— babe, what are you even filming?"
"This whole interaction! It's way too entertaining," Kaia giggled, ending the video and slipping her phone in her back pocket. She stepped toward Taylor as she started washing her hands in the sink and wrapped her arms around her waist. Kaia stepped up on her tiptoes and left a kiss on Taylor's cheek before nuzzling her back. "I take it you guys had a good time?"
"Great time," Taylor chuckled, drying her hands off with a towel and then twirling around in Kaia's arms.
"So, how come you're bleaching your hair?" She asked Mica, leaning into Taylor's side as the blonde started massaging her arms comfortingly.
"I thought I would look great with pink hair," Mica explained briefly, and honestly, Kaia wasn't all that surprised. He always tended to be so incredibly impulsive that the real surprise was the fact that he had never bleached and dyed his hair before.
"If she doesn't completely butcher this job, then I think you might actually be right!"
"Hey—" Taylor's bottom lip protruded in a pout. "I followed the instructions down to the letter! If it goes to shit, that's because he bought horrible hair dye!"
Kaia beamed up at her girlfriend and pecked her pouting lips. "Well, he probably did anyway. Is there more bleach?"
"I am not bleaching my pubes!" Mica cried out, holding his finger up threateningly between the two girls.
"Mec..." Kaia exclaimed, grimacing at him, completely horrified. "Who said anything about fucking pubes?" [Dude...]
"Mica, you're disgusting," Taylor muttered, dropping her forehead on Kaia's shoulder in exasperation. The brunette patted her head softly, leaving a small kiss on her hairline.
"I hope you know that I'd never think of your pubes. Like, ever." Kaia told him. "No, I was thinking I might as well dye my own hair."
Taylor lifted her head up and cocked her eyebrows up in surprise. "Really?"
Kaia shrugged casually. "Sure... it's October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. The dye we have is pink... it makes sense."
"Yessss, Kibs!" Mica grinned boyishly, holding out his hand to high-five her. "We should all dye our hair together! It'll be fucking great!"
"Oh, no. No, no, no... you guys have fun, but I'm never bleaching my hair again. I'm still recovering... physically and emotionally," Taylor shook her head and Kaia laughed, ruffling her growing blonde locks. They were pretty much back to their original shade of blonde, which frankly, Kaia liked a lot better. Although, her bleached blonde hair was very attractive. Definitely intimidating as well. Hot, for sure.
"That's okay, I'll convince you to go pink one of these days." Kaia smiled widely at Taylor and pecked her lips before turning to Mica. "I'm doing this."
"Yes! You're so lucky I got two whole boxes!" Mica exclaimed excitedly, grabbing a grocery bag from the floor.
"Why would you get two whole boxes of hair bleach?"
"Because I know you, and I just knew you were going to find this idea irresistible," Mica called her out, and honestly, Kaia wasn't even mad he was right.
"All right then! Bleach me!" She exclaimed, opening her arms wide and clapping her hands together rather loudly.
"Change your clothes first. I don't want you ruining my shirt," Taylor chuckled, shoving Kaia toward their bedroom.
"Your shirt?" Kaia glanced down at the plain red turtleneck she had on and back up at Taylor with her head tilted to the side. "Is it? I thought I grabbed it from my side of the wardrobe."
"It is mine, and it looks great on you, which is why I need you to change so you could wear it again for me!"
Kaia stopped for a second and smirked at Taylor, her hands grabbing the shirt by the hem, untucking it from under her trousers. "For you, huh?"
Taylor opened her mouth to respond when Mica interjected, faking a rather very dramatic gag. He should have been an actor, really.
"I'm literally sitting right here!"
With a light chuckle, Kaia turned to their massive and now shared closet, picking out an old shirt with the words already mostly washed out.
Mica documented the whole process while Taylor applied the bleach all over Kaia's hair, even their small fight when she had almost accidentally gotten Kaia's eyebrow. He was so distracted that he almost forgot to rinse out his hair.
To everyone's genuine surprise, the two of them sat around the kitchen island with mugs of tea a few hours later, with perfectly pink hair. Taylor snapped a polaroid of them and slid it over to her girlfriend.
"I believe I've outdone myself!" Taylor said with a smirk, leaning over Kaia's shoulder to glance at the picture with her as it started to develop.
"All you did was follow the instructions on the back of the box," Mica made sure to point out, earning himself a flick on the back of the head from Taylor and a small pinch on the arm from Kaia.
"You would've fucked it up for sure," Kaia snapped at him as he rubbed his arm and head at a very awkward angle.
"What the fuck? You guys are impossible!"
Taylor chuckled, wrapping her arms around Kaia's waist and kissing her cheek over and over again. "You really look amazing, baby."
"Thank you," Kaia beamed widely, swivelling around in her chair to face Taylor and kiss her softly. "I'm Instagramming this."
"Whatever. I'm ordering a pizza."
Mica got up and made his way to the living room, leaving Taylor dumbfounded and Kaia unfazed.
"Did he just invite himself to stay over for dinner?"
"Get used to it," Kaia chuckled, attempting to take a good picture of the polaroid in her hand.
"He's not going to spend all his time here... is he?" Taylor sounded a little scared that he might just do that. "I wanna spend time with you... you know, alone."
"No can do," Mica called out from the other room. "We come as a package!"
"No, we don't," Kaia shook her head, editing the picture before posting it without a caption. She was probably going to get shit for her impulsive decision, but hey, at least she could enjoy it for a couple of weeks. At least, until the coming month.
"I'm getting a pizza with mushrooms and extra olives!"
Even Taylor knew not to joke about such a thing in front of Kaia. The brunette was up on her feet and dashing to the other room in a matter of seconds.
"Don't you fucking dare, you twat! I'll call Greg and have him remove you from the premises!"
"Dude, you know how sacred pizzas are," Taylor mentioned when she joined them, though she was trying hard to fight off her smile as she settled on the sofa next to Meredith.
"He's a monster!" Kaia muttered before going on an extensive rant in French.
Mica was pretty much unbothered as he called the pizza place and ordered two normal pies. He was an asshole to his best friend, but he wasn't evil.
Kaia flopped down in Taylor's arms and leaned back against her as they waited for their dinner to arrive. They let Mica flip through Netflix until he settled on old Modern Family episodes they had all already seen.
"Twitter's already talking about you," Taylor murmured hours later, scrolling mindlessly through her phone. "Some pictures have already leaked. Gentleman, isn't he?"
Kaia glanced at Taylor's phone, spotting a picture of Will opening the door for her, and another one of him helping her with her jacket. "He was nice enough."
Kaia watched Taylor scroll through several articles and all the comments and responses before she decided it would be a good idea to snatch the phone out of her hands and turn it off.
"What— hey!" Taylor tried to grab it back but Kaia placed it into the pocket of her hoodie and slipped her hands in there as well. "Kibbles, what if my mom calls?"
"She'll call me if she can't reach you. Or you can just call her now and then turn your phone off. But I think we've had enough social media for the night."
Taylor wanted to argue some more but eventually, she sighed heavily and relaxed into the sofa. "Okay, you're right."
"Mhm, I know," Kaia hummed, nuzzling Taylor's neck. "It'll be okay."
She found her hand around her waist and laced their fingers together, giving it three small squeezes.
"Yeah, I know."
Kaia smiled softly up at Taylor, leaving a chaste kiss on her lips. Taylor smiled back, pulling her in for another kiss, this one a little deeper. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. She parted her lips just slightly when they were interrupted by a very loud snore.
The girls turned around to find Mica deep asleep on his side of the couch. With a little chuckle, Kaia got up and dropped a soft blanket over him. She grabbed the remote control from his hand and turned the telly off.
"Do you want to go to bed?"
Taylor nodded and got up, grabbing Kaia's hand as they made their way upstairs to their room. They were both still getting used to calling things theirs but it was becoming pretty easy. They went around one another, going about their own night time routine before they finally slipped under the bedsheets together.
Taylor reached over to turn the bedside lamp off and rolled on her side, tangling herself into Kaia's body.
"Today wasn't so bad," Kaia murmured, her fingers absentmindedly running through Taylor's hair.
"I guess not," Taylor agreed. "I guess Will's not so bad."
"Yeah, he's great." Kaia looked at Taylor, searching for her face in the darkness. "Night, baby," she whispered, softly caressing Taylor's face.
Taylor grabbed Kaia's hand and kissed her palm softly. "Night, angel."